NASA’s DART mission successfully alters asteroid’s solar orbit

• Scientists have confirmed that NASA's DART mission successfully altered an asteroid's solar orbit, marking the first intentional change to a celestial body's path around the sun.
• The DART spacecraft impacted Dimorphos in 2022, which orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos, and observations now show their travel time around the sun was reduced by 0.15 seconds.
• This minor adjustment resulted in a 720-metre reduction in their 300-million-mile orbit, a significant step for future planetary defence against potentially hazardous space rocks.
• Researchers highlighted that even a small deflection, if applied years in advance, can prevent an asteroid from hitting Earth, though Dimorphos itself never posed a threat.
• The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft is scheduled to reach the asteroids in November to conduct further studies on the impact's aftermath.

IN FULL

Asteroid used for target practice by NASA successfully nudged into different route around the sun